Saturday, September 08, 2007

Armed with my new crocheted bag, I went shopping this afternoon at the Jean-Talon Market (which is kind of a bad idea on a weekend, because it's so busy, but I still love it there).

I made this great -- and sparkly! -- little bag from this free pattern. Now, my original plan had been to make a good-sized bag that could hold lots of stuff. As I was crocheting this one I thought it looked pretty small, but of course a mesh bag will expand; I added an extra four rounds before working the decreases, but otherwise followed the pattern. When I finished, my first thought was that I'd just made myself an evening bag instead of a grocery bag. It was so small!

However, as shown in the first photo, this sucker does hold plenty. In that picture, there were two large tomatoes, two red peppers, one English cucumber, two small zucchinis, a bunch of green onions, and a bunch of celery in the bag. Just minutes before, I'd had a conversation with one of the produce vendors that went a little something like this (but in French):

Me: I don't need a bag -- I have one. Her: This? Is it big enough? Me: Yes! [not really sure this was true] Her, putting the vegetables in the bag: It grows! Me, beaming: I made it!

I still have lots of sparkly silver cotton left, so I'm going to make at least one more bag. I'd like to try this MagKnits pattern, which is for a much bigger bag. I don't love knitting on big needles, though, so I may crochet again. Not sure.

2. Thrift

It's been a while since I bought buttons, since I have lots, but I'm in the middle of making a simple, bulky cardigan and planning for it to just have two big buttons. At Value Village earlier today, I just happened to find some of the most incredible buttons I've ever seen:

I'd love to know what the story is with these. I've never seen anything like them. The designs in the middle are 3-D under a clear surface. Have you seen these before?

I also managed to find some back-to-school clothes: a short-sleeved shirt, a blue long-sleeved Western-cut shirt with pearl snaps, and a light-brown wool V-neck vest with a nice lace pattern on the front (which I could easily knit, but not for $3.99). 'Twas a good shop.

Wow! Great bag, and buttons to die for! (Sorry, no clue about their provenance or design.)

I recently inherited my mother-in-law's button stash, which is huge but unfortunately almost completely plain white, grey, and black plastic buttons. I did get a few nice ones, which I hope to blog soon.

Thos buttons are incredible. You MUST make a cardigan to use them up! The market bag is also great. I have a bought one, and it is bigger to begin with, which can be a bother as it expands so much it gets very heavy. Yours seems a better size.

What a great weekend you had! I painted my hallway and cleaned the screened porch, which was productive but not fun. A few years ago I knitted a string bag out of Euroflax, and the big needles were awful. I wish I had crocheted it!

I have a ton of vintage buttons that I have been selling. If you would like some free ones, I'd be willing to send you a care package. email me your color choices and contact info at jillrachel at gmail dot com if you're interested!